Yesterday I attended a speech by Steven S. Little. The topic was on Business Growth and included many of the rules from his book, “Seven Irrefutable Rules of Small Business Growth“. However, it was rule #2: Outstanding Market Intelligence that really got my attention. I got to thinking how this really could help all our clients in building industry, considering all the changes it is going through right now.

One of the most memorable points he made was, “Pull your heads up from your computer or out of the books/spread sheets and take a look around at what is really going on”. He said we need to take a more macro approach to our businesses and place a bit less emphasis on the internal workings. There always needs to be a balance, and too often we get in the habit of doing what we know, and never lifting our head to see the forest through the trees.

He also mentioned that in order to deal with change, we need to recognize it, adapt to it and finally make a fundamental shift and embrace it. It is one thing to notice that there is a problem, but it is an entirely other to actually act upon it. Change is a scary thing, we are all creatures of habit. However, without change, nothing new would ever be created. I think the way to get through this downturn is to change. If we all keep approaching our businesses and their products in the same way we always have, things will just stay as they are.

Change is good! Let’s stop fighting it, just accept it and move forward.

The World has finally sat up and taken notice. We all need to be doing something to help the environment. We all need to focus on what we can do to aid in the fight. One thing that is being talked about continuously in the building industry is LEED Certification.

Interesting enough, LEED Certification is not all about just the environment, it is about business. Everyone is getting environmental. You no longer have a marketing advantage by saying you are building green. It is becoming something that you have to do, not something that is an option. Getting a LEED Certification is not cheap either, you have to look at many different angles of the entire building process to even gain a few points.

As sited in Fast Company, The Green Standard, here are just a few examples of what the point spread looks like. Each action earns a point.

Siting - Reclaiming a brown field site; build near public transportation

Water Use - Landscaping with native plants, capture rain water run off

With all the attention about LEED and the great things they are doing, there are still flaws in the process. Categories are not weighed the same, there are no regional adjustments and the process is complex.

However, things are still changing at a rapid rate. New procedures are being added all the time, with new incentives and equate to greater impact.

It will be interesting to see where all this ends up. For now it is adding value, I predict at some point it will just be mandatory. I guess only time will tell. For now, this is just my observation.

I just came across an article in Chief Marketer that has another view on social networking. Their main point focuses on viral downloads and not necessarily on just networking in these social places. I have a bit of a problem with this mode of thinking. If a company is to promote something via viral downloads, one thing must be true. The consumer must deem it worthy of passing it on. This is not something that is usually developed by intention. Quite often it is the exact opposite. So if you are trying to start a viral campaign, you might want to visit this article to see the true meaning of viral.

The article on Virtual neighborhoods also mentions that social networks should not be used for all brands and just because another company is doing it, doesn’t necessarily mean yours should too. I totally agree with this statement, if networking this way does not enhance your brand you should stay out of this arena.

Just food for thought, when considering if your company should jump on the social network band wagon.

If you are listening to Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer, you just might be convinced that this is our new reality. Recently at the Master’s of Marketing Conference in Phoenix, last week, this was the main topic of discussion. He even went so far as to say, in an article by Brand Week “In ten year, traditional marketing as we know it will disappear.”

Although, I agree things are changing, I’m still a little hesitant to say traditional marketing will completely die, I think it will just be done a bit differently. I tend to reflect back to the dot com boom and look at the predictions of how we were going to only buy goods and services online from that point. Even though, consumers are more and more turning to the web to do their shopping, there is still a great need and desire to have traditional methods of purchasing available.

So that being said, even though I think things are definitely heading for a more digital presence, I think we all still desire to touch and feel some of the more traditional methods of marketing. Thoughts???

Sony Bravia

Finally some ads that hold your attention, are different and get across the ONE targeted message, even though it doesn’t happen until the end. Great Adverting!

Lately I keep coming across articles that are ranting that “Advertising is dead”. No one is tuning in anymore, it is simply information overload. It seems the saying goes “What we resist will persist” just might be true. More and more people are turning to YouTube, the Internet, Tivo and ipods to side step all the advertising that is virtually being shoved down their throats.

Why is it, when people say they don’t want this anymore, that we just keep doing the same thing. As Albert Einstein once said “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Isn’t it about time to start thinking a bit differently?

As a professional in the field of advertising you are probably wondering if I have lost my mind. Maybe I have, but it just seems like when things are not working as they once did, maybe we should change how we are doing them.

It seems like in the building industry this is especially true. We keep sending the same message, the same way, to the same mass amounts of people. Why is it that when marketers try and focus on something new or directly target a very small specific audience, that people get scared out of their mind? Your advertising and marketing approach should scare you a bit. If it does not, then you are doing the same old boring thing as everyone else. No one is going to see it or care.

To really stand out in this world of way too much information, try and send your message differently. Don’t send out the standard postcard mailer, run the average 30 second radio spot and then wonder why they are not working. Start thinking differently, start thinking like your customer and not like a company trying to sell something. Get into the minds of your client and usually what they want is not what you think they want. Find out what they REALLY want. Think like your customer and you will have solved your advertising and marketing problems.

The media is flooded with the headlines “The Bubble has burst”, but what does this really mean to builders and developers as far as marketing and selling their products. The focus needs to be shifted from this doom or gloom amongst our industry to looking forward towards the future.

We need to stop slashing prices, auctioning inventory and go back to the basics. I know inventory needs to move out, but there are better ways than adding insult to injury. We are adding to the problem, by doing the above things. People are saying if the builders and developers are actually slashing prices, their products were over priced to begin with. People are hanging on to wait until prices are at an all time low, to begin buying.

We need to look at why people were buying in the first place. The economy is still at a good place, people can still afford to buy, they are just scared. We need to help them feel that this is a good investment at a great time and not something to be afraid of jumping into. Instead of marketing like a used car salesman, focus on what truly makes your project or product different. Why should someone buy from you? Help educate people on what is really going on and stop adding to the media frenzy.

So lately everyone is a buzz with the topic of Social Networking. If you are not currently on Face Book, MySpace, or Linked In, you are doomed to failure. Or are you? Are these sites really for personal use only, or have they crossed into the field of business and marketing? Linked In, is for sure targeted specifically for the business community, but does it really do what it is intended to do. It is suppose to connect you with possible leads or other like minded business people in your industry. However, is it really just a MySpace for business people? Are people really just wanted to stay connected, because the real connections are no longer happening? I often wonder, how many leads or true connections someone actually generates from their social networking site? It makes you wonder how much time is wasted “connecting” with other people virtually, when we should be actually connecting face-to-face a lot more often. It goes back to the basics of networking, just pick up the phone and actually connect with someone. In the book “Never Eat Alone“, by Keith Ferrazzi, he focuses on just how important relationships are in our personal lives as well as in business. Not a bad thing to think about and a great read. This is a new an interesting phenomenon that is happening on the web, and I’m interested in how others feel about this.